The Scallop Wars: French and UK ships clash in English Channel

By Karla Adam

London: The footage shown on British television was dramatic: French and British vessels ramming into each other, fishermen shouting insults, smoke bombs hurtling through the air.

Welcome to the 2018 Scallop Wars.

In this image taken from France 3 video, French and British boats clash off France's northern coast.Credit:AP

In the latest instalment in the long-running feud over the humble scallop, French and British boats clashed on Tuesday in the English Channel, just off the coast of France. In the early hours of the morning, around 40 French vessels reportedly chased away five British vessels from an area known for its scallop-rich waters.

The two sides are at odds over fishing in the waters, and have clashed on the issue for over a decade. In an effort to help build up scallop stocks, the French are only allowed to fish in the waters between October 1 and May 15. But the British are not subject to the same rules.

Advertisement

French fisherman accuse the British sailors of having an unfair advantage and plundering their stocks, while the Brits counter that they were doing nothing wrong and accuse the French of piracy.

Normandy fishing chief Dimitri Rogoff said that the French vessels were indeed trying to stop the British from fishing in the waters, but just until the season got started again.

The bow of the Honeybourne 3, a Scottish scallop dredger, in dock at Shoreham, south England, following clashes with French fishermen in the early hours of Tuesday morning off France's northern coast. Credit:PA

"For the Brits, it's an open bar - they fish when they want, where they want, and as much as they want," he told the BBC. "We don't want to stop them from fishing, but they could at least wait until October 1 so that we can share.

"Scallops are a flagship product for Normandy, a primary resource and a highly sensitive issue," he said.

"This kind of event is extremely dangerous at sea," she said, adding that authorities would remain vigilant for signs of flare-ups.

Footage on French state television and on social media showed about 35 small French fishing boats menacing five larger British vessels early Tuesday morning in a stretch of international waters that separates Britain from the rest of Europe, just off the northwest coast of France.

At least one French boat slammed into the side of a Scottish vessel.

One video showed two smaller French boats navigating close to a larger Scottish vessel, with one slamming into its side. (A Scottish ship and its owner were convicted in November of catching scallops smaller than the permitted minimum size and ordered to pay a total of £29,000, around $51,000.)

Video posted by the master of the French boat showed smoke or steam rising from the larger vessel. The French state television network France 3 said it appeared smoke bombs had been thrown.

"There were some fairly strong clashes," Lieutenant Ingrid Parrot, the spokeswoman for the French regional maritime authority, said by phone Wednesday.

Maritime official Ingrid Parrot described a muscular confrontation between 35 French boats and five British ones in international waters on Tuesday morning as "very dangerous," although there were no injuries. Credit:PA

Barrie Deas, the chief executive of Britain's National Federation of Fisherman's Organisations, said the French actions are just frankly dangerous.

"It's alarming because of the French tactics and potential danger for the crews of the boats involved - both on our boats and the French boats," he told The Washington Post. "We have disputes from time to time. The proper place to resolve them is around the table."

Britain's government meanwhile said in a statement the fisherman were "operating in an area they are legally entitled to fish," adding that it was in contact with the French to "prevent further incidents from occurring."

Sheryll Murray, a British Conservative lawmaker, tweeted: "This is disgraceful treatment of British vessels who were doing nothing but trying to earn a living."

The British media reported that at least two British boats were damaged in the latest skirmish.